fbwmfandomcom-20200214-history
User blog:Merricksdad/Excludes/Includes Discussion
Damn Page Shifts Due to all the issues associated with moving from page to page on facebook using their links, which don't actually call page shifting code, I was thinking about a few things. Global Exludes The first thing I was thinking about was global exludes. I see more and more people are creating them for GreaseMonkey. I've already made a comment on the Known Issues page about which global excludes will affect this script family adversely. Because global excludes are gaining in recognition, that means more and more people are getting used to modifying their own scripts and how those script work. But on the other hand, I still think the majority of users of scripts like these are not even technical enough to get them properly installed without help. Something I was thinking about might solve a few issues and be useful for both types of user. My suggested change would allow WM to run on any page on facebook. While many would say this is a bad thing, and I totally agree, it would also make the script and its sidekicks easier to use for non-technical users. Here's why: *Wall manager options would be available on any FB *Sidekicks would dock any time the user is on a FB page *No longer would options get wiped if sidekicks didn't dock properly and a user clicked save in the options menu. So here's some drawbacks: *More memory would be used because WM would load in EVERY window and sub window, even hidden ones, on FB pages. Thats totally wasteful. *Sidekicks would do the same thing. *Users would be open to more detection from FB about the use of scripts. But truthfully if they didn't want you to use them, they would have made it fairly hard to do so. Advanced users would then add global excludes manually to use the script in a more efficient way. That means only the more technical oriented people would be using an efficient WM, while those who are not so technical would suffer less issues but would also be running an inefficient WM. Advanced users buidling their own global includes would have the option ban the running of WM script wherever they wanted, even those where WM normally runs. Future Changes With all that being said above, I want to toss in my intentions for WM 1.6 (or maybe WM 2.0). WM will no longer run on the news feed! Kinda. I know thats a hard thing to swallow for many people since that is where the bonuses come from for them. But my reasoning is very sound, I assure you. The reason I want to change the WM functionality this way is because FB keeps changing stuff: format, css classnames, dom structure, EVERYTHING. I cannot keep this up forever and the more they change stuff back to back, the more I don't feel like trying. But moving to a graph API generated list allows me to step away for weeks at a time if I feel like it, maybe even months. That coupled with the new dynamic grabber lets you control the script for possibly months without getting a single update! Now that is what I'm all about. The entire WM script would be SO much smaller with less loops, less timers, and less crap in general. Less options, less clutter, and less confusion. Also, there would be MORE data for sidekicks to test (title, comments,times clicked already), less bandwidth useage, no need to actually load any images, lots of good stuff. No longer would WM need so many includes or excludes really, but the fact remains that people might want to just click a button built by WM to take them to the games collection page. Therefore WM still needs to be active on ALL FBpages in some small way, as do the sidekicks so they can contribute their options to the menu. My proposed change requires the user to open a new page or pagelet in which WM will run. Like how facebook works now, the WM will take over the section in which the news feed loads, wipe it clear, and then display its own stuff without any FB elements in the way. The view can be changed to appear like the modes used now (plain,short,dev). Content will not rely on the news feed, but instead from posts pulled in by the FB graph API. No news feed filters will affect what is grabbed. What you get is what you asked for. Alternately, you can change the layout of the whole page to give you a wider WM-only view, removing almost all FB elements from the page, except basic navigation back to FB news feeds and the FB top bar. The view will be uncluttered and visually appealing with the ability to change colors to suit your own needs. Not everybody likes my bright colors on medium gray gradients. Some elements will be built around your selected browser colors, or those used by the FB layout so the view merges with the FB format and the appearance of your browser borders. Do you have any input for the includes/excludes topic? If so, comment below. Category:Blog posts